Category Archives: College Prep

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This article was originally published on September 12th, 2016. It was updated and republished here on August 26th, 2017.

There’s one thing parents long for far more than straight A report cards.

Parents want kids to do their own homework in a quality manner without the parent needing to prod, nag, oversee, or push.

Want to increase your chances of having academically independent children and teens at your house?

Ask each of your children these 5 questions every September.

Before you have this conversation, be sure your teen has a calendar, planner, or special notebook for recording assignments and due dates. Then — keeping this particular student’s personality in mind — provide some individualized teaching on the subject of workflow process management.

Today I’m re-running an article I previously wrote on the subject of Ivy League admission. The reason? Harvard University has made a surprising, disheartening decision that significantly impacts its students’ ability to save money on the education it provides. You’ll read about the Harvard decision–and what you can do about it– in the red text below.

Parents, you feel a lot of pressure to get your kids into a “good” college after high school. An “Ivy League” university would be ideal! But is all the work and stress really worth it?

5 Cautions For You If Your Child is Headed to College in 1-3 Months

Ben and his parents sat up late at their dining room table, combing through all of Ben’s college financial aid numbers one more time. Ben’s dad ran his fingers nervously through his hair. The problem? It was already summer, and every college that had accepted Ben for the coming fall was requiring him to commit to loads of student loan debt in order to attend.

“Is it too late to just try to go to a different college?” Ben asked. “I don’t know,” Ben’s dad said. “Are there any other colleges still taking applications?”

My husband, the avid hiker, gave me a set of hiking poles and these instructions: “When you start to feel exhausted,” he said, “just concentrate on your next step. Where’s the next, best place to put your foot? Carefully put your foot there, and before you know it you’ll be at the top.”

Many of us get through parenting in this exact same way.

Exhausted, we survive day-to-day by focusing on the bare minimum required next step in our parenting journey. Just getting through until bedtime, or until Saturday’s soccer game, or until the next school break. We limit our thinking to the immediate, the urgent, and the short-term—because that feels productive. It feels like we’re getting somewhere.

In truth, taking just 5 minutes to look at the long view can be exhilarating.

When I was climbing that mountain in Zion, the moments that took my breath away happened when I stopped, lifted my head, and looked out over miles of sheer cliffs and valleys, all the way to the misty distant horizon.

Taking 5 minutes to look toward the parenting horizon can be both exhilarating and transformative.

For 5 minutes right now, think, “What could we as a family do this year, that could impact our descendants 100 years from now?”

Is there something you could do now related to education, to money and debt, or to moral and spiritual development, that could pay off for generations to come?

Our culture is currently plagued and limited by a short-term thinking mindset. You don’t have to be.

Ari Wallach, in this powerful TED Talk, urges us all to transform our children’s and grandchildren’s futures by breaking free of the 3-5 year “short-termism” that, he says, “permeates every nook and cranny of our cultural reality.” Wallach calls us all to practice “longpath” thinking that asks this important question: “To what end?”

What is the purpose in what we’re doing? Where are we going with this?

How will these decisions we’re making today impact our family 100 years from now?

What could we do this year that could pay off in huge ways…for generations?

Carefully consider these words, which I consider to be the most important in Wallach’s TED Talk:

From the time students are in middle school, they’re told the big lie. That colleges and grad schools are looking for students who are “well-rounded.”

“Don’t commit too deeply to any one thing,” well-meaning parents and college counselors tell students. “Instead, do a lot of different things. Do as many as you can! Cram your schedule full to bursting! Exhaust yourself! Colleges and grad schools will like how ‘well-rounded’ you are.”

Here are 5 reasons why the “well-rounded” myth makes no sense.

1. Millions of students fall into the “well-rounded” category. It’s nothing special.

Getting ready for a 10th grader’s first college visit? Make sure your family doesn’t make these 7 college visit mistakes.

1. Pick a college at random, and just go.

Give no thought whatsoever to whether this college will actually prepare your child for a job he’ll excel at some day, and don’t consider at all whether your family can afford it. Just pick a random college and go.

The truth is… it’s wiser to carefully research college options ahead of time, and visit only the ones you and your child know are good fits as far as real world career preparation and affordability. Remember, your daughter may fall madly in love with the first college she visits. You want to be sure it’s a good option.

2. Visit only state universities, because you think they’re cheaper.

The truth is… many students take six years to earn a four-year degree at a state university. Read here how those two extra years in college can end up costing students $300,000 in extra tuition, interest, lost full-time income, and stunted retirement savings. Ask a parent who owns my book how to determine which private colleges might be far better bargain options.

3. Don’t tell the admissions office you’re coming.

Just wing it. What can the admissions office do to help you anyway? They’ll just give you an unwanted sales pitch, right?

Here are 7 Proven Ways To Get Through College FAST

When you imagine your daughter’s future, you probably don’t envision her spending extra years in college.

Yet, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 40% of college students earn their bachelor’s degrees in four years. And only 60% of college students receive a degree in six years!

Grads in these degree fields find it hard to get the jobs they went to school for. They tend to make less money than they should be making, and a lot of them live with this discouraging realization: “I might have just wasted all that time and money I spent on college; I’m not even using the degree I worked so hard for.”

Help your kid stay off of the path to underemployment.

17 College Majors That Tend to Lead to Underemployment:

Physical Education Teaching: 57% grads are underemployed

Human Services: 56% grads are underemployed

Illustration: 55% grads are underemployed

Criminal Justice: 53% grads are underemployed

Project Management: 53% grads are underemployed

Radio/Television & Film Production: 53% grads are underemployed

Studio Art: 52% grads are underemployed

Healthcare Administration: 52% grads are underemployed

Education: 52% grads are underemployed

Human Development & Family Studies: 52% grads are underemployed

Creative Writing: 51% grads are underemployed

Animal Science: 51% grads are underemployed

Exercise Science: 51% grads are underemployed

Heath Sciences: 51% grads are underemployed

Paralegal Studies: 51% grads are underemployed

Theater: 51% grads are underemployed

Art History: 51% grads are underemployed

(This information is based on PayScale data collected from 962,956 workers between 3/21/2014 and 3/21/2016.)

But wait–there’s good news in this Forbes report too!

In every one of these college major fields, some of the graduates are working. A good number of them (in some cases almost 50%!) are employed in their career fields, fulfilling their potential, making money they’re happy with.

What sets the fully-employed grads apart from the underemployed ones?

One thing I know for sure–the grads who completed extensive job shadowing and multiple paid internships in their career fields are doing far better than those who failed to complete these important steps during college.

You can see two extremely helpful posts I’ve written about internships here and here.

If your kid loves a field with low employability, have him or her try this:

Take the advice of Gwen Burrow from Find Your Calling, who tells students: “Ask yourself–do you really need two or four years of full study in subjects like studio art, creative writing, or theater? Is that something you could do with just a few classes, plus practice on your own time?”

Your child could also consider combining the less desirable major with a potentially more lucrative minor. Combine a “health care administration” major with an accounting minor, for instance, or an “illustration” major with a marketing, advertising, or art education credential.

I’m not sure I’d advise your kid to pursue a college major in Studio Art, Theater, or Art History…

Those fields are notoriously difficult when it comes to finding full-time jobs after college.

But I can tell you this. Being strategic about job shadowing and interning can make the difference between depressing, low-paying, motivation-sapping underemployment and a truly fulfilling long-term career that makes perfect sense.

(Many thanks to Gwen Burrow from Find Your Calling for the help she gave me writing this article.)

Yes.

A 10th grader contacted me recently and asked me this great question about taking college classes in high school.

“Jeannie, I know that you strongly recommend dual enrollment college classes in high school for kids who want to get through college debt-free. I want to do dual enrollment full time in 11th and 12th grades so that I’ll have two years of college done by the time I graduate from high school. But my parents are trying to steer me toward doing dual enrollment only just part time. They’re worried that if I take a full load of dual enrollment college classes in high school, I’ll miss out on ‘the full high school experience.’ What do you think?”

15-year-old Luke had been in a dark, angry mood all day long, starting from the moment his mother wished him a cheerful, “Good morning!” and set hot scrambled eggs and a fresh hot caramel roll in front of him at the breakfast table.

Luke ate in broody silence, and his mother felt momentarily thankful for the quiet. If Luke could just get off to school without a screaming mood swing and slamming doors, today would be a good day.

Luke’s mom looked at him chewing the buttery, drippy carmel roll. His eyes were flat, his face devoid of appreciation or joy. She felt anxiety rise in her own chest, but then rationalized it away. “It’s probably just hormones,” she told herself, “and there’s nothing I can do about that.”

Actually, it’s probably not “just hormones.” It’s more likely “launch anxiety,” which is something you can help with more than you realize.

Rather than hormones, your teen’s dark moods, depression symptoms, mood swings, blunted, flat emotional responses, and hair-trigger anger are far more likely to be linked to a psychological condition called “launch anxiety.” The good news? Keep reading. There’s a lot parents can do to alleviate “launch anxiety” and help teens to feel better.

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What others are saying …

"We only got around to doing a fraction of what Jeannie tells people to do, and we saved well over $50,000 on college costs. Our daughter earned a four year degree from an excellent private university at age 20, and she's now in California happily working her dream job at Disney. Get to one of Jeannie's live classes if you can. Buy a plane ticket if you have to!"
-- Liz and Tim Weatherhead, parents, Bloomington, MN

"Students who go through college without career direction are, as Jeannie Burlowski says: 'like archers who pull the arrow back on the bowstring, shoot, and then years later look around for the target.' Jeannie's resources help students to take aim early and fire a sure shot. Whether that's at medical school, or at some other worthy endeavor."
-- Dr. Paul Amble, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine
Chief Forensic Psychiatrist for the State of Connecticut

"Jeannie Burlowski has been instrumental in helping me to reach some of my highest academic goals."
-- Jordan Denitz, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, University of California, San Diego Greek Scholar of the Year

"Just read a single tip on JeannieBurlowski.com and immediately made an important change on our daughter's FAFSA form that could save us tons. Thank you Jeannie!"
-- Amy Lively, author of The Neighborhood Cafe theneighborhoodcafe.net

"Jeannie didn't just help me get into my favorite college, she helped me figure out what I actually want from college. I attribute my top-notch scholarship, my new straight-A study skills, and my future aspirations to two afternoons I spent with Jeannie. If you want a great future, start with Jeannie Burlowski."
-- BradWalton, Fort Collins, Colorado

"Hi Jeannie! I am completely thrilled and excited with everything you say and do. I just made a 3 ring binder and downloaded every single grade level task for college prep, in addition to your blog articles. I am extremely passionate and committed to getting (our daughter) through college with the least amount of debt possible. I just wanted to say 'thank you' for this valuable information and how much I appreciate you as a college curator. You are the BEST and I look forward to your books when they are released."
-- Parent

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About

I am a full-time academic strategist, conference speaker, and author of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.

My writing and speaking provide parents a clear, step-by-step checklist so they can set their kids up to succeed brilliantly in college, graduate debt-free, and move directly into careers they excel at and love.

For more than 20 years, I've helped students apply to highly competitive law, medical, business, and grad schools. I still do that from my website GetIntoMedSchool.com.

I am married, and my husband and I have a son and a daughter. We live in Minneapolis.

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Disclaimer

Note: Information provided by Jeannie Burlowski and JeannieBurlowski.com is for general informational purposes only. Because consultants cannot control student grades, test scores, individual family situations, or how well or how thoroughly parents follow the suggestions offered in these pages, no representation, warranty, or guarantee can be made and no liability is assumed regarding any individual’s ability to graduate college debt free or succeed in career or in life. Seek the advice and counsel of a properly licensed CPA, Certified Financial Planner, or other licensed professional for specific guidance on how to apply these principles to your family’s individual financial situation.

About Me

I am a full-time academic strategist, conference speaker, and author of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward.

My writing and speaking provide parents a clear, step-by-step checklist so they can set their kids up to succeed brilliantly in college, graduate debt-free, and move directly into careers they excel at and love.

For more than 20 years, I've helped students apply to highly competitive law, medical, business, and grad schools. I still do that from my website GetIntoMedSchool.com.

I am married, and my husband and I have a son and a daughter. We live in Minneapolis.